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Fact Check: Republican Budget Raises Taxes $144 Million in First Year

Statements from Senate Democratic Leadership on the Republican Budget

Senate Democratic leadership today released the following statements concerning the Republican budget:

“At first glance, the Republican budget appears ostensibly responsible; however, a closer examination proves that not to be the case,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven). “The Republicans spent months apparently engaged in the Appropriations subcommittee process, all along giving us hopes of a bipartisan agreement they never intended to realize. It is duplicitous. It’s time to go to the negotiating table and get to work.”

“The Republicans crafted this half-baked budget in secret and without any transparency or public hearings,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk). “Buyers beware. The Republican budget raises lots of taxes, despite their rhetoric. Car taxes and property taxes will significantly increase for the middle class. In a sentence, ‘You can’t eat cake and lose weight’ and this is what their proposal wants people to believe.”

Republican Budget Facts

Raises Taxes

The Republican budget raises taxes $144 million in just one year by:

Raising taxes $55 million on Connecticut homeowners

The Republican tax plan eliminates the $200 property tax credit for those who are not elderly or do not have dependents

Raising taxes $25 million on the working poor

The Republican tax plan cuts the Earned Income Tax Credit to 25 percent of the Federal EITC

Raising taxes $64 million on car drivers

The Republican tax plan ends the Democratic initiative to cut car taxes for residents in towns with a mill rate higher than 37

These tax increases will come right out of the pockets of Connecticut families. These are direct tax increases on the people of our state.

Cuts Funding to Towns and Cities

The Republican budget cuts $340 million in funding to municipalities in first year

Eliminates the Municipal Revenue Sharing Account (MRSA) and takes the full 0.5 percent of the sales tax and adds it to the General Fund

Cuts Funding to Transportation

The Republican budget cuts $340 million in funding to the Special Transportation Fund (STF) in first year

Transfers 0.5 percent of the sales tax from STF and adds it to the General Fund

Violates the Transportation Lockbox they seek to create

Sweeps sales tax from STF

Secretive, Partisan Budget

The Republican budget was written behind closed doors without any input from Democrats.

While Democrats were working with Republicans in public crafting a bi-partisan budget, Republicans were drafting their own secret tax increase on homeowners, car drivers and the working poor.

Ends Open and Clean Elections

The Republican budget eliminates public financing for the Citizens Election Program